★★★
To save his reputation Sir Richard McCreadie decides to bounce back with a highly publicised and extravagant party celebrating his 60th birthday on the Greek island of Mykonos.
Classification: 15
Michael Winterbottom's satire of vanity, wealth, and inequality is an interesting but flawed examination of the world's ruling class as Steve Coogan's boisterous performance as fictional retail king Sir Richard McCreadie is bogged down by inconsistent narrative styles. Wanting to tackle many big relevant ideas on the nature of third world sweatshop workers injustice, the Syrian refugee crisis and privileged abuse of minorities, alongside celebrity egotism through reality television and lavish lifestyles, all compressed into a multilayered time jumping Greek tragedy tribute. It's no wonder the satire that Winterbottom attempts chokes around all of its multiple threads and loses some of its bite.
Greed is ambitious and there are moments when the film truly delivers excellent comedy and drama mostly when Coogan's character takes centre stage amid the many subplots and thematic devices. Crammed with flashbacks, supporting character backstories, government inquiries, documentary-style interviews alongside interviews for David Mitchell's reporter character as he attempts to write McCreadie's biography, Winterbottom wants to examine and take down so many elements to wealthy lifestyles that his direction becomes frequently distracted. Without a clear narrative framework whether it be Mitchell's reporter uncovering the sordid history of McCreadie's business dealings or the buildup to the infamous Greece themed birthday party, all of the various subplots become either muddled with one another or left underwhelming.
Which is a shame because there is plenty within Greed that packs a punch mostly in the performances led by Steve Coogan, David Mitchell, Isla Fisher and Dinita Gohil capturing the two sides with effective hilarity and pathos. Mitchell, known for his dry sardonic wit is basically playing a version of himself, a reporter who has disdain for the McCreadie lifestyle yet accepts the status quo, lulling himself into a false sense of security leading him to be shocked by every revelation he makes. While his character is predictable Mitchell still delivers quite a few hilarious moments. Isla Fisher as Samantha McCreadie, the ex-wife again follows the archetype but she and the extended family characters including a creepy Asa Butterfield as Samantha and Richard's son Finn doing his best to deliver an Oedipus subplot to pile on the story (although focused on his younger stepmother) are on display to show the clueless desolation of these people's souls. Although they are not completely inhuman, Fisher and Butterfield bring humanity to their characters but Winterbottom's vision is to show the absolute callousness of their world, how the cruelty strips away all empathy leaving them as the avaricious husks they must be to survive. Dinita Gohil is the surprise buried within the film with her character, a seemingly lowly assistant helping to organise the party having a dark history connected to the McCredie empire with her scenes being the most dramatically powerful and poignant. Gohil's story is one of those elements that can feel sudden amid all of Winterbottom's clashing ideas especially in the hectic first act but shows how Greed's ambitions to criticise this culture was not all in vain.
Finally, Coogan as the man himself Sir Richard McCreadie is phenomenal, a glorious sendup of real-life retail magnate Phillip Green complete with a fake tan, fake teeth clad in a toga and obsessed with ancient Greek symbolism and the film Gladiator. One of my favourite pieces of Winterbottom's screenplay is McCreadie's continued infatuation with the Ridley Scott film, quoting it and finding the whole aesthetic akin to his own "glorious" empire (both built by slave labour, an overt theme of the film) and acquaints the myth to his own arrogance as if he was a mighty hero. I also love how despite his extravagant party being on the Greek island of Mykonos, all of the guests and "workers" dressed in togas (inspired by Green's 50th birthday soiree) spouting mythological references and wanting his party to feature any actual gladiatorial arena complete with a live lion. He is so full of himself he doesn't realise Gladiator revolves around Roman imperial society. While the Greeks did inspire the Romans, it's a clever subtle detail Winterbottom and Coogan add to show the fraudulent nature to McCreadie's character; a man of no authenticity or truth within him. Greed as a expose and criticism on Phillip Green's lifestyle and dealings couldn't be more clear and perhaps it is that disdain that has Winterbottom utilise so many techniques to highlight the depravity of McCreadie's actions, wanting to dissect every scummy thing this man has done through his fictional surrogate. McCreadie's a conman plain and simple, a bravado of cheap tricks and shady deals that exploits inequality and destroys business and jobs for the sake of his own ego and wealth. Despicable but to Coogan's credit he shows the humanity hidden within the vanity, it doesn't make him any less likeable but he feels much more like a living breathing man than any caricature which is why Greed excels when Coogan dominates the screen. McCreadie's final scene being hauntingly powerful as Winterbottom's treatise on a hollow legacy of deception reaches unexpected pathos as storylines collide with surprising results.
Greed, for lack of a better word, is fine and while Winterbottom and Coogan do plenty to expose and explain the monstrous conditions that the 1% abuse upon the world; the tax evasion, the immoral labour conditions, bribery, the pure unforgivable deceit in the name of their own selfish prosperity. However, it just feels like something is missing from Winterbottom's vision, that secret ingredient needed to have every piece fall perfectly into place. It's disappointing in how the film stumbles trying to cover so much ground when the ambition, themes and narrative are so relevant to our modern socio-political age. Winterbottom doesn't try to provide the answer to solve these issues he does enough to expose the problems, though not enough to have it dig deep into the audience's conscience and inspire rigorous debate over our societies failings and debauchery.
Director: #MichaelWinterbottom
Screenwriter: #MichaelWinterbottom
Cast: #SteveCoogan, #DavidMitchell, #IslaFisher, #OllieLocke, #SophieCookson, #ShirleyHenderson, #PearlMackie, #AsaButterfield
Release Date: February 21st 2020
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images from the Internet Movie Database, Synopsis from Google
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